Advisory Committee on economy holds 1st meeting
President John Dramani Mahama came out of the first meeting of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the economy yesterday convinced that the path for restoring economic growth had been laid.
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Speaking to the Presidential Press Corps after the three-hour meeting at the Peduase Lodge, the President described the discussions as positive, especially as the committee tackled various policy options.
The President, who chaired the meeting, said the committee came up with some bold measures to restore economic stability.
In attendance were the Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur; the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Mr Seth Terkper; the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Henry Kofi Wampah; a renowned economist, Mr Kwame Pianim; a former Minister of Finance, Dr Kwesi Botchwey; a Senior Policy Advisor to the President, Dr Sule Gariba, among other personalities.
Specific measures
President Mahama said one of the measures taken centred on restoring fiscal stability, as well as others to address the fiscal deficit and make it more credible.
That, he said, was done with the view to getting a buy-in from both domestic community and international donors.
Currency stabilisation
Another key area that came up for discussion was currency stabilisation, he said.
That, the President said, was key to achieving economic recovery because of the negative effects the depreciation of the cedi had brought on the economy.
He said with the presentation of the mid-year budget and the Senchi Economic Forum report, avenues had been created to restore economic growth.
He said the meeting would continue today, since the discussions had not been exhausted.
In a brief remark, Mr Pianim expressed the conviction that economic recovery could be attained.
Dr Wampah cautioned Ghanaians against speculating about the cedi, saying measures were being taken to restore normalcy.